World War II Bunker
| Location: | Arras |
| Open: | not yet open [2007] |
| Fee: | not yet open [2007] |
| Classification: |
World War II Bunker
|
| Light: | electric |
| Dimension: | T=11°C. |
| Guided tours: | L=350m, VR=22m, D=60min. |
| Bibliography: | |
| Address: |
Office de Tourisme, Place des héros, 62000 Arras, Tel: 0321-5126-95, Fax: 0321-5176-49.
E-mail: |
| Last update: | $Date: 2008/07/01 20:22:29 $ |
| 1916 | start of construction. | |
| 1917 | construction completed. | |
| 09-APR-1917 | Battle of Arras. | |
| 1945 | tunnels closed. | |
| 1996 | tunnels rediscovered. | |
| 15-FEB-2008 | opened to the public. |
The Wellington Caves (Carrière Wellington) are often confused with
the connected limestone quarries
Les Boves.
During Wolrd War I the medieval chalk quarries were used as a British Hospital.
Apparently the tunnels extend for a considerable distance into all directions.
During the First World War the frontier was located right north of Arras for a rather long time. In December 1916 the Royal Engineers started to work underground, linking the subterranean quarries together. They created a massive underground hideout, a bunker accommodating 24,000 soldiers.
This work was continued by the New Zealand Tunnelling Company and Bantams. The New Zealand tunnelers were Maori, specially recruited from the gold and coal mines of the country, the Bantams were miners from the mining towns of Northern England. The Allies devised a plan to add newly-constructed tunnels to this network so troops could get up to the battlefield underground. Four Tunnel Companies of 500 men each worked around the clock in 18-hour shifts for two months. And this was only one sector.
The result were ten kilometers of tunnels called subways, which were meant for foot traffic only. There were tramways with rails for pulling hand-drawn carts called trams. And there were underground railways. The tunnels had electric light, the electricity was provided by its own small powerhouse. The tunnels had sewers and water pipelines for the kitchens and laundrettes. Because of the high number of tunnelers from New Zealand the tunnels were called Wellington Caves. Another name was Ronville Tunnel. Todays French name Carrière Wellington is simply a translation.
By the way, German sappers did the same at the same time. They knew of the tunnels and were seeking them out to assault and counter-mine them.
The work culminated in what was later called the Battle of Arras on 09-APR-1917 in a surprise attack. The tunnels which stopped short of the German line were blown open by explosives. Conventional mines which were laid under the front lines were blown immediately before the assault. The battle ran through to the 16th May. The British had 15,000 casualties whereas the German troops lost almost 100,000.
Around 1990 large parts of those tunnels have been rediscovered, and over the years were prepared to house a museum. A memorial to 41 New Zealand tunnellers who died during the construction of the tunnels and 151 who were injured, was unveiled at Arras in 2007. A part of the huge tunnel structure was opened to the public in February 2008. There is an underground museum with some 20 displays explaining the construction and the strategic resons for the work. It is located at a depth of some 22m below ground, a glas elevator brings visitors from the above ground Visitor Centre into the tunnels.
A last rather weird fact is one person who fought on the German side in this battle and survived. Adolf Hitler, the future leader of the Nazis, was Gefreiter (private) in the German army at this time. The battle impressed and influenced him very much, and was one piece for his future heroic cult. If he had been killed, a lot of death and horror would have been avoided.
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